The Waltham-Lowell system was a production model developed in the 19th century, by Francis Cabot Lowell and the Boston Associates, a group of investors. Lowell began to hone in on the new system when the Boston Associates opened a textile plant in Waltham, Massachusetts. He intended to keep the entirety of cloth production in one building, rather than physically separate the individual stages. The first successful example of the Lowell System, the Boston Manufacturing Company, was opened in 1814.
The Original
The previous system that Lowell based his production model off of was the Slater Mill System. In this model, workers lived in mill villages, where they were close to the mills in which they spun cotton into wool. The difference, however, between the Slater Mill System and the Waltham-Lowell System, was that Slater's model sent the wool to other villages for spinning into cloth, while Lowell intended to keep all stages under the same roof.
The Boston Manufacturing Company Mill
How It Really Worked
The workers in the Lowell System were mostly young girls from New England. They were promised food, shelter, and employment, as well as better conditions than those that they would inevitably face on farms. These girls lived in boarding houses near the mills, where they had to closely adhere to a strict routine, which was monitored by older women, who were also employed by the Boston Manufacturing Company. In addition to the strict code of conduct, the routines were also highly specific, down to the minute. Every day, six days a week, the girls would be woken up before dawn and given a short period of time to prepare for work, which began at 5:00 am. With only two short breaks during the day, the workday ended at 7:00 pm. In total, the girls worked 80 hour weeks. After the apparent success of the Lowell System, the model was eventually copied in other mill towns, including East Chelmsford, Massachusetts and Manchester, New Hampshire. Conditions, however, were not like that had been promised to the young girls who worked in the mills. They were worked hard, forced to serve long hours, and follow strict rules. The system could easily replace a worker, so little value was placed on the individual, but rather, on the whole system. Though effective at producing material, the system worked at the expense of the mill girls, who suffered in order to revolutionize the textile industry.
A group of workers from a Waltham-Lowell Mill
Why Labor and Industry?
A map of modern Lowell, Massachusetts, a city built upon the Waltham-Lowell System.
The Waltham-Lowell System is a clear example of how a singular change can revolutionize an entire industry. By merely placing all of the steps of manufacturing under the same roof, the textile industry took an entirely different path, leading to new use of young girls as laborers and the containment of factories within a small village, rather than multiple. The industry, as a whole, was entirely changed by this new system, as it also meant that companies could have even more control over their employees, in a form of chattel slavery. Similarly, this led to mass urbanization, as mill towns eventually became known as places of employment, to which people flocked. This led to the establishment of large cities, centered around the mills. The revolution that the Waltham-Lowell System began can be traced to the growth of New England cities, such as Lowell and Manchester, as well as the beginning of urbanization in general
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The Waltham-Lowell System
Background
The Waltham-Lowell system was a production model developed in the 19th century, by Francis Cabot Lowell and the Boston Associates, a group of investors. Lowell began to hone in on the new system when the Boston Associates opened a textile plant in Waltham, Massachusetts. He intended to keep the entirety of cloth production in one building, rather than physically separate the individual stages. The first successful example of the Lowell System, the Boston Manufacturing Company, was opened in 1814.
The Original
The previous system that Lowell based his production model off of was the Slater Mill System. In this model, workers lived in mill villages, where they were close to the mills in which they spun cotton into wool. The difference, however, between the Slater Mill System and the Waltham-Lowell System, was that Slater's model sent the wool to other villages for spinning into cloth, while Lowell intended to keep all stages under the same roof.How It Really Worked
The workers in the Lowell System were mostly young girls from New England. They were promised food, shelter, and employment, as well as better conditions than those that they would inevitably face on farms. These girls lived in boarding houses near the mills, where they had to closely adhere to a strict routine, which was monitored by older women, who were also employed by the Boston Manufacturing Company. In addition to the strict code of conduct, the routines were also highly specific, down to the minute. Every day, six days a week, the girls would be woken up before dawn and given a short period of time to prepare for work, which began at 5:00 am. With only two short breaks during the day, the workday ended at 7:00 pm. In total, the girls worked 80 hour weeks. After the apparent success of the Lowell System, the model was eventually copied in other mill towns, including East Chelmsford, Massachusetts and Manchester, New Hampshire. Conditions, however, were not like that had been promised to the young girls who worked in the mills. They were worked hard, forced to serve long hours, and follow strict rules. The system could easily replace a worker, so little value was placed on the individual, but rather, on the whole system. Though effective at producing material, the system worked at the expense of the mill girls, who suffered in order to revolutionize the textile industry.Why Labor and Industry?
The Waltham-Lowell System is a clear example of how a singular change can revolutionize an entire industry. By merely placing all of the steps of manufacturing under the same roof, the textile industry took an entirely different path, leading to new use of young girls as laborers and the containment of factories within a small village, rather than multiple. The industry, as a whole, was entirely changed by this new system, as it also meant that companies could have even more control over their employees, in a form of chattel slavery. Similarly, this led to mass urbanization, as mill towns eventually became known as places of employment, to which people flocked. This led to the establishment of large cities, centered around the mills. The revolution that the Waltham-Lowell System began can be traced to the growth of New England cities, such as Lowell and Manchester, as well as the beginning of urbanization in general
.